Character One-Shots
by Shadow of a Forgotten Ghost
Summary: Sorry for the boring title, but it's functional. Basically as it says. I wanted to write one-shots featuring my favorite characters. I've been reading a lot of OOC stories and wanted to write something that is hopefully close to their true nature. First up is Sasuke!
1. Clinging to Revenge

**Hello everyone! I've been reading so many OOC stories lately that I'm sad at myself, so I just wanted to prove to myself that I can still keep people in character. Anyway, it'll probably be just my favorite characters, and it'll probably just be the versions from the earlier times. No Shippuden for me. The feelings and goals became a little more confused and complicated as they grew older. So yeah. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Damn!" Sasuke growled in rage and slammed his fist against the tree next to him. What the hell was he doing, staying in this stupid village and following along with this farce? He was supposed to be out looking for his brother. But instead, he was walking back home from training. Training with those two idiots and a carefree teacher who couldn't be on time to save his own life.

He was getting soft. Naruto was continually catching up to him. That moron was getting ever closer to him. And if someone as dumb as Naruto was catching up to _him,_ then Sasuke wasn't progressing at all. He hated it. He hated living a dull life in the village, pretending to have a normal life while his brother was still out there, _alive._

Each day that he stayed in the village, Sasuke could feel the memory of that night slowly fading away. It wasn't forgotten, no, never forgotten. But it used to be the only thing that dominated Sasuke's mind. The fact that it was fading away now just angered him even more. What was he doing? Revenge was the reason for his existance. Nothing was going to change that!

Sasuke was so enraged that he didn't notice the sizeable crow that glared down at him from the tree. It let out a crow, shattering the silence of the surroundings. That cry startled Sasuke. He would never have admitted it to anyone, but it had genuinely startled him. It broke his fierce concentration on his thoughts and he glared right back up at the bird. This was just more proof that he was getting weak.

The crow squawked again, quieter this time, staring down at Sasuke with its beady black eyes. Somehow, it reminded Sasuke of that time.

_"I was just measuring my worth," Itachi said coldly, no emotion in his face or voice. His Sharingan stared eerily out of that stony, blood-stained face. He gave a short chuckle without humor. "If you want to kill me, then survive pathetically. Run and run and cling desperately to life..."_

"Aaaaahhh!" Sasuke yelled, throwing a kunai at the crow with deadly accuracy. He turned away and listened in grim satisfaction as the bird tumbled noiselessly to the ground.


	2. A Lazy Day

**Hm. -_- I feel like I didn't do very good with this one. It's vague and not particularly in character in most places. Although I sympathize with his lazy attitude the most, I can't copy very well his full personality or the people around them because...I dunno. I'm not a strategic thinker and I don't have his level of intelligence. That counts out a battle scene or a game of shogi (especially since I don't know anything about the game). So I settled for this.**

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"Come on Chouji, Shikamaru!" Ino cried, waving behind her.

"Geez, what a pain in the ass," Shikamaru grumbled. "She's so loud."

"Aw, come on Shikamaru!" Chouji said cheerfully. "She's treating us to lunch!"

"Is that all you think about?" Shikamaru muttered to himself. "I'll never understand her. She was just complaining about how hard it was to stay on a diet, and now she's all excited about going to lunch. *sighs* Whatever. But isn't this the ramen shop? Don't we usually go somewhere else for lunch?"

"Ino chose where to eat today," Chouji pointed out. "And you know she's hoping Team 7's going to be there."

"Aw, jeez. What a pain," Shikamaru groaned again. He knew exactly what was going to happen. Ino was going to see Sasuke, squeal and scream like crazy, and then get into fights with Sakura and Naruto. "Then why are we even with her if she's just going to fawn over Uchiha?"

Chouji shrugged, shoving a few chips in his mouth. "Something like celebrating recent success on a mission so we could skip out on training today."

"Man, I can't believe Asuma let that go," Shikamaru muttered in disbelief. "Whatever, I'm going back."

"Hm? What's the matter Shikamaru?" Chouji asked, temporarily pausing on his chewing.

"Nothing. I'm just going to go for a walk. Go ahead Chouji, I'll see you later, alright?"

Chouji stared at him for a while worriedly before smiling with understanding. "Yeah. See ya later, Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru let out a small smile. Chouji was probably the only one who understood him so well. He turned away and walked back the way he came.

He managed to catch Asuma right outside of his house.

"Hey, Shikamaru," Asuma greeted, revealing the shogi board he'd already set up. "I'd figured you'd come here right about now."

Shikamaru just smiled again and sat down, ready for a quiet game.


End file.
